Football reporter

Coach Ange Postecoglou has dispensed with all but a few ageing relics for his upcoming Brazilian exhibition. Photo: Josh Robenstone

Whether or not it is a subtle pointer to the change taking place within the Socceroos, the Museum of Contemporary Art on Sydney’s waterfront will make a fitting backdrop for the unveiling of the 30-man Socceroos’ extended World Cup squad.

Much like the museum itself, coach Ange Postecoglou has dispensed with all but a few ageing relics for his upcoming Brazilian exhibition.

This will be a squad which encompasses a vision not only for next month’s tournament but also the regional one soon after, January’s Asian Cup on home soil.

Possible squad.

But even that tournament will probably come too soon for this group of players to see success. Only by the time of qualifying for the next World Cup – slated to begin in September next year – will the benefits of Wednesday’s squad announcement be in full bloom.

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To be fair, that was always Football Federation Australia’s long-term doomsday scenario: that Australia would fail to qualify for Russia 2018 in the absence of the soon-to-be-pensioned-off “golden generation”. This is the first step towards thwarting that unthinkable proposition.

Now addicted to the drip-feed of publicity, money, interest, passion and mainstream acceptance that World Cup participation provides, qualifying every four years remains the end goal, at least until the country produces world class players. Before then, anything gained from tournament play is a bonus.

The combination of a new coach with little or no emotional attachment to past achievements, and an impossibly tough draw, has paved the way for Postecoglou to unveil the youngest Australian squad playing in a serious event for a long time.

As nobody expects Australia to defeat Chile, the Netherlands or Spain, public ambition is rooted in pragmatism. It is simply too perfect an opportunity not to provide the next generation, be they golden or otherwise.

Players in the 30-man squad have already been given notice of their selection by national team staff, so they can at least prepare for the week-long training camp in Gosford, which begins on Thursday. A short, sharp pre-camp run by assistant coach Aurelio Vidmar has already been taking place in Adelaide for a week.

In truth, Wednesday’s announcement is mostly about satisfying a curious public and formally extinguishing the hopes of those who never really had a hope of going anyway.

The bolters of the squad appear to Newcastle pair Josh Brillante and goalkeeper Mark Birighitti, with Bailey Wright to be included, even if he remains with Preston North End during their League One promotion play-off campaign.

Despite missing the finals, the Jets will be the best-represented of any club, boasting three inclusions, with Adam Taggart also set to for selection after scoring 16 A-League goals last season.

Adelaide’s Osama Malik appears the likely recipient of Trent Sainsbury’s misfortune, with his knee – which has reduced him to a single appearance with Dutch club PEC Zwolle – excluding him from contention.

These bolters are going to find it a tough slog to make the final 23-man squad, named at the conclusion of the camp. Postecoglou will have a rough idea of who he wants to go, yet he still has to allow for an injury or dramatic loss in form over the next week.

He may, for example, be more inclined to guarantee Mark Bresciano a place given the injury to Mile Jedinak, expected to sideline him for three weeks. But if Bresciano is too rusty after his lengthy suspension, and Massimo Luongo or Brillante excel in training, the dynamics may change again.

Don’t forget Postecoglou’s youth-first orientation, too. Brillante and Luongo are more than a decade younger than Bresciano, and Malik is nine years younger than Luke Wilkshire. The sight of the ambitious, boundary-pushing Taggart trying to outshine the incumbent Tim Cahill and Josh Kennedy has fireworks written all over it.

Such nervous energy will permeate the camp from day one. Only those who thrive in what promises to be a dog-eat-dog seven days will see their World Cup dreams realised.

1 comment so far

I was speaking to a Dutch friend of mine. He said Holland were afraid of Australia.